ed to St. Francis de Sales, seeking his help for their problems. St. Francis spent countless hours ministering to them face-to-face and wrote over 20,000 letters! From these letters to persons in many countries and in all walks of life, we've selected the ones which will be most helpful to you today.

Each is a hand-written response to someone like you seeking help with an actual problem. You'll be consoled by the warmth, the wisdom, and the holy sympathy you'll find in these pages as the love of this great saint reaches out to us across the centuries. Whatever your circumstances may be, there's wisdom here to make your life holier . . . and happier.

Wisdom for difficult situations . . .

• To a pious wife: how to be devout without irritating your husband
• To an old man, preparing for death
• To a woman who judges herself harshly
• To a woman distressed by her lack of spiritual progress
• To a newlywed, teaching the duties of married life and how to fulfill them
• To a new widow who finds life alone a terrible burden
• To a young man, showing him how to treat his parents better
• To a nun, on placing ourselves in the presence of God
• To a married woman trying to bear patiently her live-in parents-in-law
• To a pregnant woman, tired, sick, and discouraged, who thinks she doesn't pray enough
• To a childless woman, helping her to accept this sorrow
• To a priest, on staying faithful to his calling
• To a nervous woman, showing her how to be less troubled
• To a woman troubled by sinfulness in the world
• To a businessman, showing him how to find God in his busy life
• To an overworked woman
• . . . plus help for dozens of other problems we all face!

Solutions to common troubles . . .

• Family problems -- how to keep calm, and even use troubles to improve your family
• Anxiety about the future: your job, your children, anything at all. It can be overcome!
• Your flaws -- the right response to them. Plus, ways to bear those you can't overcome
• Family, work, prayer: which should come first? How to set your priorities
• Three criteria for judging pastimes. Do you really know which are spiritually healthy and which are dangerous?
• Helplessness: coping when you're not in control, especially during times of sickness or loneliness
• The roots of heresy -- why you must understand Scripture in light of Church teachings
• Temptation and sin: how to turn them into spiritual victories